Brush.



E. A. BRIGGS.

BRUSH.

APPLICATION FILED PEB.13. 1914.

Patented Oct. 27, 1914.

Invenior Edar A. Briggs,

. smooth and even, in which bristles shall be firmly locked in place. soas torender removal impossible without destruction of the brush,

' various purposes.

EDGAR A. BRIGGS, OF HOPKINTON, MASSACHUSETTS.-

BrwsH.

Specification of Letters Patent Patented Get. as, here.

Application filed February 13, 1914. Serial No.. 818,597.

To all whom; it mayconcern Be it known'that I, EDGAR A. BRIGGS, acitizen of the United States, and resident of Hopkinton, county ofMiddlese'x, State of Massachus etts, have inventedan Improvement inBrushes, of which the following description, inconnection with theaccompanyingdrawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawingrepresenting like parts.

This invention relates to the construction of brushes. y

The invention in its preferred form is particularly useful in connectionwith tooth brushes or brushes'which it is particularly desirable shallbe kept in a sanitary condition or which shall becapable of readysterilization. But the invention is equally applicable to brushes :ofvarying sizes and for The object of the invention'is to provide a brushin which the brush back shall be in which the brush shall bethoroughlysanitary, and in which the brush may be sterilized in boilingwater or other liquids with out injury to its construction.

The nature of the invent-ion will appear more fully from theaccompanying description and drawings and will be particularly pointedout in the appended claims.

The drawings represent a preferred form of brush and illustrate steps inthe process of manufacture, involving the invention, the brushillustrated being a tooth brush.

In the drawings, Figurc' 1 is a View in perspective of a novel form ofdouble ended tooth brush embodying theinvention; Fig. 2 is across-section taken through a .line of apertures in the brush back, andshowing the steps in theprocess .ofinserting the bristles; Fig. 3 is asimilar view af er the bristles are inserted showing the steps in theprocess at any time.

With this invention the hack and handle of the brush may be madethroughout of metal so that the only non-metallic material in the brushare thebristles themselves.

The construction is such that when the brush is completed it isimpossibleto pull out or remove the bristles or for them to workloose-without the destruction of the. brush back. There are noprojecting parts or no parts liable to work loose and PIOJQCt fromtheback, thus insuring a perfectly smooth back to the brush.

The brush shown in the drawings as illustrative'of the invention ispreferably made of aluminum, but any other suitable metal or materialmay be employed for that purpose. The brush is shown as double endedhaving a handle 1 terminating in the brush backs 2 and .3, the formerbeing shown as rectangular and elongated, and the latter as circular.These brush" backs are connected to the'body of the handle 1 bypeculiarly shaped necks 4 and 5 which enable one or the other ofthebrushes to be fitted into the mouth and brought into contact with anyportion of the teeth needingcleansing.

So far as the invention herein involved is particularly concerned theshape of the back of the brush is not'material and is equally applicableto any shape such as that illustrated at 2 or that illustrated at 3 orother usual shapes.

The brush from the process which will now, be described.

The back 2 is first provided of suitable material such as aluminum ofproper shape, size and thickness, according to the required purpose.Pairs of apertures are then formed through the back as by drilling orpunching', three of such pairs of apertures being illustrated in Fig. 2,the members of each pair being designated at 6 and 7 respectively.

These apertures should be of 'suflicient diameter to receive and holdsnugly tufts of bristles of the desired size. A groove is v formed inthe upper face of the back conbristles may be of any suitable materialsuch as is employed in the manufacture of forming the invent-ion resultsbrushes. Each set of bristles is then doubled in its middle, a wire 8 or"other suitable device is inserted through the loop end of a set ofdoubled bristles, the wire followed by the set ofbristles is pulled upthrough one aperture as 6 of a pair of apertures, until the bristlesproject from the face of the back to the required extent. ,At thecompletion of this step of the operation the set of bristles are in theposition illustrated in the middle pair of apertures of Fig. 2. The loopend of the set of bristles is then bent over toward the back, the wire 8is inserted through the aperture .7,. and is pulled .through, pullingafter it the loop end of the bristles until the bristles take theposition illustrated in the left hand pair of apertures, in Fig. 2,,with the central portion of the-bristles lying in the groove, and thebristles thus pro ecting in two tufts throughthe apertures from thebottom face of the back. The loop end of each set'is trimmed ofi thenorsubsequently leaving the bristles in the form shown in the right handpair of apertures in Fig. 2.

A filler orlocking plug 1s provided, and

this is preferably of U or staple shape, and

v of that portion of the apertures,and connecting groove lying above thebent middle section of the bristles, but is somewhat larger in size, sothat when it is forced intov them in place, and still project somewhatabove the surface of the back. This filler,

' such as 9, is next inserted place and forced into place by driving orswedging until it fillsup completely the space between the bristles andthe back of the brush, and locks the bristles firmly in place. Thecompletion of this step of the operation is shown in the middle sectionof Fig. 3. When all the fillers have been inserted the back of the brushis then finished off. by ;rinding and polishing, or in any othersuitable man- 'ner, thus removing the projecting portion of the fillers9 and leaving the upper surface of the back smooth and even.

It will thus be seen that all the objects of the invention areaccomplished, that the back'of the brush is perfectly smooth, that thereis nothing projecting therefrom excepting the bristles, that there isnothing which can work loose from the back, that (the bristles arefirmly locked in place, and

cannot be removed or pulled out or work loose, that the brush isthoroughly sanitary, and especially when'made of metal, comprisesnothing but the metal of the back and the bristles themselves, and thatit is capable of sterilization in boiling water or other liquid.

what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A brush comprising a back provided with apertures extendingtherethrough in pairs, connected by a groove on the upper face of theback, a set of bristles in each pair of apertures having the middleportion in said groove and the ends projecting through said aperturesfrom the lower face ofthe back, a locking plug wedged into and fillingsaid groove and apertures above the bristles and finished off flush withthe upper surface of the back.

Having thus fully described my invention,

.2. A brush comprising a $0110. metal back provided with aperturesextending therethrqugh in pairs connected by a groove on the upperfaceof the back, a set-of bristles in each pair of'apertures having themiddle portion in said groove and the ends projecting through saidapertures from the lower face of the back, a staple shaped metal lockingplug wedged into and filling said groove and apertures above thebristles and finished ofl flush with'the upper surface of the back. Intestimony whereof, I have signed my name to. this specification.

. I EDGAR A. BRIGGS. Witnesses:

NATHAN HEARD, ELIZABETH G. MORRIS.

